Chinese New Year also known as Spring Festival is wrapped in great history, traditions and rituals. This year the Chinese New Year begins on February 3rd. This one is especially for the people who have been long intrigued by the history and the traditions behind the Chinese New Year. The history and traditions are very rich and diverse.

To be honest, it is very difficult to trace down the centuries old history and traditions… it seems like the Chinese New Year has been around here forever. The Chinese New Year is originally regarded as the start of the Spring Festival and the festivities last for well over 15 days. The festival is said to have had great importance for the ancient feudal lords of China. Spring was marked by grand ceremonies. The preparations for the Chinese New Year always began well in advance… almost a month before, with people stocking up on stuff like good clothing, foods, decorations and presents.

The Chinese New Year always brings in great clean up drives that involved complete top down cleaning of Chinese homes. This was important because people think that it drives away the bad spirits and bad luck accumulated over the past year. This was followed by people putting a fresh new coat of color over their houses (mostly red). The color and the decorations put on windows, doors and porches signified themes like happiness, wealth and longevity. The paper decorations have always reflected this spirit.

It is said that the Chinese New Year had a special significance for Chinese peasants because on this day the God of the kitchen goes to meet the Jade Emperor. During his absence it is the family members of the house that clean up the house and the kitchen to welcome the kitchen god upon his return. It was also the only day that the Chinese peasants actually took a day off and rested.

The Chinese New Year is also exciting because of the great food festivities associated with it. The eve of the Chinese New Year sees a lot of delicacies being prepared in honor of the age old traditions and rituals.

The annual dinner is a great feast that involves dumplings and rich seafood to mark the great occasion. You can find delicacies like dried oysters and prawns that signify liveliness and happiness and others like raw fish salad to bring good luck and prosperity.

So what does the Chinese Astrology predicts for the year of the Rabbit 2011? The start of the year of the rabbit according to the Chinese calendar is followed by the usual trend of predictions for the upcoming year. The following is a set a of predictions based on how the energy of the Rabbit would affect the world and its citizens in the coming year.

World Events

According to most astrologers, the year of the Rabbit will see heightened state of conflicts arising from the eastern and the northeastern parts of Asia. North and South Korean tensions are expected to persist throughout the year with no solid solution in sight. This should be similar to what was witnessed during the duration from 1950 to 1953. The alignments of the sickness stars and the Grand Duke of Jupiter are also not very favorable. Last such alignment pointed to a SARS outbreak.

Health

Last year, the year of the tiger, was very unforgiving for people with shoulder and neck problems. This was expected because of the powerful energies of the tiger. The year of the Metal Rabbit points to a different style of energy of altogether and you should be taking special care of your liver and lungs. Increasing rates of pollution and deteriorating weather are expected to be heavy on lungs.

Love

If you have been born in the year of the Dog, Horse or Tiger, you will see greater chances of finding love. So be prepared to go out more often.

World Economy

After the global recession, the US economy will continue to improve over time and it is advised that you gradually step away from your investments in imports from China. Last year, the year of the Tiger, saw many people gain great returns based on their investments in metals such as gold, copper and silver.

This year being the year of the metal rabbit is expected to be even more favorable for those investing in metals. Try to go for construction grade metals like nickel, zinc, aluminum and steel. It is also expected that your investments in agricultural products like corn, wheat, cotton and others will produce great returns. The last time we had the year of the rabbit, there was great recovery in the world economy that was suffering from the 1987 worldwide stock market crash and in the year 1999, we saw recovery from the burst of the dot com bubble.

The definition of an empire is: when a single entity has supreme rule and power over a vast area of territory, which consists of peoples of different ethnicity and nationality. This list is based on the influence, longevity and power of the various empires, and, as you will see, it contains at least one or two entries that may strike some as controversial. My one requirement for this list is that the empire must have been ruled – for at least a majority of the time – by an emperor or king. This excludes modern so-called empires such as the United States and Soviet Union. The entries here are listed roughly by influence and size.

10

Ottoman Empire

At the height of its power (16th–17th century), the Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, controlling much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. It contained 29 provinces and numerous vassal states, some of which were later absorbed into the empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. The empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. With Constantinople as its capital city, and vast control of lands around the eastern Mediterranean during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520 to 1566), the Ottoman Empire was, in many respects, an Islamic successor to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

9

Umayyad Caliphate

The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four Islamic caliphates (systems of governance), established after the death of Mohammed. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the city of Mecca, Damascus was the capital of their Caliphate. Eventually, it would cover more than five million square miles, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen, and the fifth largest contiguous empire ever to exist. The Umayyads established the largest Arab-Muslim state in history. From the time of Mohammed until 1924, successive and contemporary caliphates were held by various dynasties – the last being the Ottoman Empire (above).

8

Persian Empire

or Achaemenid Empire

Babylonian, Akkadians, Assyrians, Sumerians, Hitites, Bactrians, Scythians, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Egyptians, Ethiopians… Before the Romans, there were the Persians. They basically unified the whole of Central Asia which consisted of a lot of different cultures, kingdoms, empires and tribes. It was the largest empire in ancient history. At the height of its power, the empire encompassed approximately 8 million km2. The empire was forged by Cyrus the Great, and spanned three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe.

7

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, was the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by emperors in direct succession to the ancient Roman emperors. It was called the Roman Empire, and also Romania. During its existence, of over a thousand years, the Empire remained one of the most powerful economic, cultural and military forces in Europe, despite setbacks and territorial losses, especially during the Roman–Persian and Byzantine–Arab Wars. The Empire received a mortal blow in 1204 by the Fourth Crusade, when it was dissolved and divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople and re-establishment of the Empire in 1261, under the Palaiologan emperors, successive civil wars in the fourteenth century further sapped the Empire’s strength.

6

Han Dynasty

During the Chinese period of warring states, the whole of China was embroiled in a civil war as the different kingdoms within it battled it out with each other in the quest for supremacy. In the end, the Qin State won, and gobbled up the whole of China, with 40 million people under it’s control. The Qin Dynasty didn’t last long, and soon it went to the Han, which eventually controlled China for close to 400 years. The period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history in terms of scientific achievement, technological advance, economic, cultural and political stability. Even to this day, most Chinese people refer to themselves as the Han people. Today, the “Han people” is considered the largest single ethnic group in the world.

5

British Empire

At it’s greatest extent, the British empire was known as the largest empire in history, as it covered more than 13,000,000 square miles, which is approximately a quarter of the Earth’s total land area, and controlled more than 500 million people – again a quarter of the world’s population. As a result, the legacy it imprinted on these conquered lands is tremendous in terms of political reform, cultural exchanges and way of life. The English language, which it spread, is the second most-widely spoken language in the world today, and many linguistics agree that English is the defacto standard language of the world. The British empire is definitely one of the most influential empires ever to have existed in human history.

4

Holy Roman Empire

During the middle ages, they were considered the “superpower” of their time. At it’s height, the Holy Roman Empire consisted of eastern France, all of Germany, northern Italy and parts of western Poland. Despite being relatively small in terms of Empires, its influence on the history of central Europe is still felt today. Incredibly the Empire lasted from the early middle ages ages to the 19th century. The Empire was formally dissolved on 6 August 1806 when the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II (later Francis I of Austria), abdicated following a military defeat by the French under Napoleon. Upon its collapse, the following nations emerged: Switzerland, Holland, the Austrian Empire, Belgium, the Prussian Empire, Principality of Liechtenstein, Confederation of the Rhine and the first French Empire.

3

The Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union. It was the second largest contiguous empire in world history, surpassed only by the Mongol Empire, and the third largest empire behind the British Empire and the Mongol Empire. At one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe, across Asia, and into North America.

2

Mongol Empire

It all started when Temujin (who was later known as Genghis Khan), vowed in his youth to bring the world to his feet. He almost did. His first act was unifying the scattered Mongolian tribes. Then he set his sight on China, and the rest is history. From Vietnam to Hungary, the Mongol Empire is the largest contiguous empire in the history of mankind. Unfortunately for them, their empire was too big to be controlled, and there was no unity among the different cultures. The Mongols were fearless and ruthless fighters, but had little experience in administration. The image of the mongols as a brutal and savage people is renowned through history.

1

Roman Empire

At first they were ruled by divine kings, then they became a republic (perhaps their greatest period) before finally becoming an empire. How a group of farmers, who started off fending wolves to protect their livestock, eventually became the greatest empire in all history is the stuff of legends. Coupled with an excellent military and administrative system, the Roman Empire, or rather ancient Rome, is also one of the longest-lasting. Counting from its founding to the fall of the Byzantine empire, ancient Rome lasted for a whopping 2,214 years!

Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology, religion and language in the Western world. In fact many historians consider the Roman Empire to be a perfect empire – influential, fair, long-lasting, big, well defended and economically advanced. The influence of the Roman Empire is felt to this day, if for no other reason than the influence on the Catholic Church, which took much of its administrative nous and pageantry from it.

A young Asian man wants to sneak aboard a flight from Hong Kong to Canada, so he wears a realistic-looking silicone mask of an elderly white man. After the flight is airborne for several hours, he removes the mask. It turns out he's a guy from China seeking asylum in Canada, and likely paid a smuggling ring to arrange it.

This brings up a few questions:

The most obvious is how did he fool so many people by wearing a mask? Was the mask that realistic looking? Don't the people at the Hong Kong airport look at people, and especially don't the people boarding the planes look at the passengers closely? Did he somehow manage to stay far away from other people? And how could he sit far away if he was sitting right next to passengers on a plane? Was this a case of one damn fine deceptive mask, or was this a case of all white elderly guys look alike?

His mask was enhanced with a costume that made him look old (helped by a standard in old guy clothing - a brown cardigan), as well as a hat to disguise his head, and glasses that helped disguise his eyes. These probably helped conceal any flaws in the mask, especially around the eyes where the mask was cut so he could see.

How was he able to look and act like an old man? Maybe the young guy was scared, and so he closed down a bit so he wouldn't draw attention to himself, and that perfectly mimicked the look of an old man who didn't have a lot of energy.

One report said that the guy doesn't even speak English. But maybe this helped him - because if he didn't have to speak at all, there would be no clash between his speech and his appearance. (And even if he did speak English, he would have to speak old white man English.)

Also, I think some reports said that the mask's mouth was unable to open. This would help make the mask's mouth look more realistic because it wouldn't have to be attached to his real mouth. Also, if he didn't speak, the jaw and mouth wouldn't have to move, which would make the entire mask more deceptive.

An intelligence alert said that he had "young looking hands," so he obviously didn't put makeup or silicone aging gloves on his hands. But he did have regular gloves in another bag, so maybe he wore gloves while he was disguised as the old man. But if he didn't wear gloves, why didn't anyone notice the disparity between his hands and his face?

So, was he getting away with his disguise until he removed it? And why did he remove it? A direct flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver does last over 11 hours. Maybe since it was a full-head mask he was sweltering inside, and it was so uncomfortable he couldn't stand the heat that long.

He needed documents to board the plane, so he showed a U.S. passport of a white man born in 1955. If we assume that someone saw this passport, why didn't they realize that if he was born in 1955 he would only be 55 years old, and that he shouldn't look like he was 85 years old?

Finally, if passengers are required to present identification at the airport, how did he get into the more secure areas? That's simple - he probably presented his own identification right up to the point where he had to board, ducked into a restroom, got a passport from someone else, and became the old man.

Roddy, sitting up in bed, drew a deep sigh. "Poor dear Aunt Laura! Thank God for it, I say. I couldn't have borne to see her go on lingering in the state she was yesterday."

Elinor said mechanically, "I didn't know you'd seen her?"

He nodded rather shamefacedly. "The truth is, Elinor, I felt the most awful coward, because I'd funked it! I went along there yesterday evening. The nurse, the fat one, left the room for something - went down with a hot-water bottle, I think - and I slipped in. She didn't know I was

there, of course. I just stood a bit and looked at her. Then, when I heard Mrs. Gamp stumping up the stairs again, I slipped away. But it was - pretty terrible!"

Nurse Hopkins, her face rather red, was hunting through the little attache case that she had laid down in the hall the preceding evening.

She grunted, "Most annoying. How I came to do such a thing I can't imagine!"

"What is it?"

Nurse Hopkins replied not very intelligibly: "It's Eliza Rykin - that sarcoma, you know. She's got to have double injections - night and morning - morphine. Gave her the last tablet in the old tube last night on my way here, and I could swear I had the new tube in here, too."

"No, it's not here! I must have left it in my cupboard after all! Really, I did think I could trust my memory better than that. I could have sworn I took it out with me!"

"You didn't leave the case anywhere, did you, on the way here?"

"Of course not!" said Nurse Hopkins sharply.

"Oh, well, dear," said Nurse O'Brien, "it must be all right."

"Oh, yes! The only place I've laid my case down was here in this hall, and nobody here would pinch anything! Just my memory, I suppose. But it vexes me, if you understand, Nurse. Besides, I shall have to go right home first to the other end of the village and back again."

Nurse O'Brien said, "Hope you won't have too tiring a'day, dear, after last night. Poor old lady. I didn't think she would last long."

"No, nor I. I dare say Doctor will be surprised!"

Nurse O'Brien said with a tinge of disapproval, "He's always so hopeful about his cases."

Nurse Hopkins, as she prepared to depart, said, "Ah, he's young! He hasn't our experience." On which gloomy pronouncement she departed.

Dr. Lord raised himself up on his toes. His sandy eyebrows climbed right up his forehead till they nearly got merged in his hair.

He said in surprise, "So she's conked out - eh?"

"Yes, Doctor."

On Nurse O'Brien's tongue exact details were tingling to be uttered, but with stern discipline she waited.

Peter Lord said thoughtfully, "Conked out?" He stood for a moment thinking, then he said sharply, "Get me some boiling water."

Nurse O'Brien was surprised and mystified, but true to the spirit of hospital training, hers not to reason why. If a doctor had told her to go and get the skin of an alligator she would have murmured automatically, "Yes, Doctor," and glided obediently from the room to tackle the problem.

Roderick Welman said, "Do you mean to say that my aunt died intestate - that she never made a will at all?"

Mr. Seddon polished his eyeglasses. He said, "That seems to be the case."

Roddy said, "But how extraordinary!"

Mr. Seddon gave a deprecating cough. "Not so extraordinary as you might imagine. It happens oftener than you would think. There's a kind of superstition about it. People will think they've got plenty of time. The mere fact of making a will seems to bring the possibility of death nearer to them. Very odd - but there it is!"

Roddy said, "Didn't you ever - er - expostulate with her on the subject?"

Mr. Seddon sighed. "The usual things. That there was plenty of time! That she didn't intend to die just yet! That she hadn't made up her mind definitely, exactly how she wished to dispose of her money!"

Mr. Seddon said again, "Oh, no. Naturally, her illness made her much more nervous."

Elinor said in a puzzled voice, "But she wanted to die."

Polishing his eyeglasses, Mr. Seddon said, "Ah, my dear Miss Elinor, the human mind is a very curious piece of mechanism. Mrs. Welman may have thought she wanted to die, but side by side with that feeling there ran the hope that she would recover absolutely. And because of that hope, I think she felt that to make a will would be unlucky. It isn't so much that she didn't mean to make one, as that she was eternally putting it off.

"The Crown takes a certain percentage," Mr. Seddon explained. He went into details.

He ended, "There are no settlements or trusts. Mrs. Welman's money was hers absolutely to do with as she chose. It passes, therefore, straight to Miss Carlisle. Er - the death duties, I am afraid, will be somewhat heavy, but even after their payment, the fortune will still be a considerable one, and it is very well invested in sound, gilt-edged securities."

Elinor said, "But Roderick - "

Mr. Seddon said with a little apologetic cough, "Mr. Welman is only Mrs.

Welman's husband's nephew. There is no blood relationship."

"Quite," said Roddy.

Elinor said slowly, "Of course, it doesn't much matter which of us gets it, as we're going to be married." But she did not look at Roddy.

"But it doesn't matter, does it?" Elinor said. She spoke almost pleadingly.

Mr. Seddon had departed.

Roddy's face twitched nervously. He said, "You ought to have it. It's quite right you should. For heaven's sake, Elinor, don't get it into your head that I grudge it to you. I don't want the damned money!"

Elinor said, her voice slightly unsteady, "We did agree, Roddy, in London that it wouldn't matter which of us it was, as - as we were going to be married?"

Elinor said, her mouth twisting sideways in a crooked smile, "It wasn't difficult. Every time you look at her - it's there in your face for anyone to read."

Suddenly his composure broke. "Oh, Elinor - I don't know what's the matter! I think I'm going mad! It happened when I saw her - that first day - in the wood ... just her face - it - it's turned everything upside down. You can't understand that."

Elinor said, "Yes, I can. Go on."

Roddy said helplessly, "I didn't want to fall in love with her - I was quite happy with you. Oh, Elinor, what a cad I am, talking like this to you - "

He said brokenly, "You're wonderful. Talking to you helps frightfully. I'm so terribly fond of you, Elinor! You must believe that. This other thing is like an enchantment! It's upset everything: my conception of life - and my enjoyment of things - and - all the decent, ordered, reasonable things."

Elinor said gently, "Love - isn't very reasonable."

Roddy said miserably, "No."

Elinor said, and her voice trembled a little, "Have you said anything to her?"

"Yes indeed, and that's true," agreed the other. She added excitedly, "Wasn't I after telling you that night of the state she was in, poor dear, and the doctor doing his best to calm her down. Miss Elinor was there holding her auntie's hand and swearing by God Almighty," said Nurse O'Brien, her Irish imagination suddenly running away with her, "that the lawyer should be sent for and everything done accordingly. ‘Mary. Mary' the poor old lady said. ‘Is it Mary Gerrard you are meaning?' says Miss Elinor, and straightaway she swore that Mary should have her rights!"

Nurse O'Brien replied firmly, "That was the way of it, and I'll tell you this, Nurse Hopkins: In my opinion, if Mrs. Welman had lived to make that will, it's likely there might have been surprises for all! Who knows she mightn't have left every penny she possessed to Mary Gerrard!"

Nurse O'Brien said, "By the way, now, did you find that tube of morphine all right when you got home?"

Nurse Hopkins frowned. She said, "No. It beats me to know what can have become of it, but I think it may have been this way: I might have set it down on the edge of the mantelpiece as I often do while I lock the cupboard, and it might have rolled and fallen into the waste-paper basket that was all full of rubbish and that was emptied out into the dustbin just as I left the house." She paused. "It must be that way, for I don't see what else could have become of it."

"I see," said Nurse O'Brien. "Well, dear, that must have been it. It's not as though you'd left your case about anywhere else - only just in the hall at Hunterbury - so it seems to me that what you suggested just now must be so. It's gone into the rubbish bin."

"That's right," said Nurse Hopkins eagerly. "It couldn't be any other way, could it?"

She helped herself to a pink sugar cake. She said, "It's not as though -" and stopped.

The other agreed quickly - perhaps a little too quickly.

"I'd not be worrying about it any more if I was you," she said comfortably. Nurse Hopkins said, "I'm not worrying."

Young and severe in her black dress, Elinor sat in front of Mrs. Welman's massive writing table in the library. Various papers were spread out in front of her. She had finished interviewing the servants and Mrs. Bishop.

Now it was Mary Gerrard who entered the room and hesitated a minute by the doorway.

Mary came and sat in the chair Elinor indicated. It was turned a little toward the window, and the light from it fell on her face, showing the dazzling purity of the skin and bringing out the pale gold of the girl's hair.

Elinor held one hand shielding her face a little. Between the fingers she could watch the other girl's face. She thought, Is it possible to hate anyone so much and not show it?

"My aunt, if she had had time to make a will, would have wished, I know, to leave several legacies.

Since she died without making a will, the responsibility of carrying out her wishes rests on me. I have consulted with Mr. Seddon, and by his advice we have drawn up a schedule of sums for the servants according to their length of service, etc."

She said, "I've got through it all! Five hundred for Mrs. Bishop - she's been here such years. A hundred for the cook and fifty each for Milly and Olive. Five pounds each to the others. Twenty-five for Stephens, the head gardener; and there's old Gerrard, of course, at the lodge. I haven't done anything about him yet. It's awkward. He'll have to be pensioned off, I suppose?"

As he wheeled round, anger on his face, she hurried on: "No, listen, Roddy. This is just bare justice! The money that was your uncle's - that he left to his wife - naturally he always assumed it would come to you. Aunt Laura meant it to, too. I know she did, from lots of things she said. If I have her money, you should have the amount that was his - it's only right. I - I can't bear to feel that I've robbed you - just because Aunt Laura funked making a will. You must - you must see sense about this!"

"Then do - just that. Go abroad somewhere for - say, three months. Go by yourself. Make new friends and see new places. Let's speak quite frankly. At this moment you think you're in love with Mary Gerrard.

Perhaps you are. But it isn't a moment for approaching her - you know that only too well. Our engagement is definitely broken off. Go abroad, then, as a free man, and at the end of the three months, as a free man, make up your mind. You'll know then whether you - really love Mary or whether it was only a temporary infatuation. And if you are quite sure you do love her - well, then, come back and go to her and tell her so, and that you're quite sure about it, and perhaps then she'll listen."

There's no trace of pettiness or meanness about you. I admire you more than I can ever say. I'll do exactly what you suggest. Go away, cut free from everything - and find out whether I've got the genuine disease or if I've just been making the most ghastly fool of myself. Oh, Elinor, my dear,

you don't know how truly fond I am of you. I do realize you were always a thousand times too good for me. Bless you, dear, for all your goodness."

It was a couple of days later that Mary acquainted Nurse Hopkins with her improved prospects.

That practical woman was warmly congratulatory. "That's a great piece of luck for you, Mary," she said. "The old lady may have meant well by you, but unless a thing's down in black and white, intentions don't go for much! You might easily have got nothing at all."

"Miss Elinor said that the night Mrs. Welman died she told her to do something for me."

Nurse Hopkins snorted. "Maybe she did. But there's many would have forgotten conveniently afterward. Relations are like that. I've seen a few things, I can tell you! People dying and saying they know they can leave it to their dear son or their dear daughter to carry out their wishes. Nine times out of ten, dear son and dear daughter find some very good reason to do nothing of the kind. Human nature's human nature, and nobody likes parting with money if they're not legally compelled to! I tell you, Mary, my girl, you've been lucky. Miss Carlisle's straighter than most."

"H'm," said Nurse Hopkins. "He wouldn't be my fancy! One of those men who are finicky and a bundle of nerves. Fussy about their food, too, as likely as not. Men aren't much at the best of times. Don't be in too much of a hurry, Mary, my dear. With your looks you can afford to pick and choose. Nurse O'Brien passed the remark to me the other day that you ought to go on the films. They like blondes, I've always heard."

Mary said, with a slight frown creasing her forehead, "Nurse, what do you think I ought to do about Father? He thinks I ought to give some of this money to him."

"Don't you do anything of the kind," said Nurse Hopkins wrathfully. "Mrs. Welman never meant that money for him. It's my opinion he'd have lost his job years ago if it hadn't been for you. A lazier man never stepped!"

Elinor had not taken more than half a dozen steps - she was still laughing - when a hand fell on her arm from behind. She stopped abruptly and turned. Dr. Lord looked straight at her, his brow creased into a frown. He said peremptorily, "What were you laughing at?"

She glanced at the clock. The post would be going in a few minutes. She opened the drawer of the desk, then remembered she had used the last stamp that morning. There were some in her bedroom she was sure. She went upstairs. When she re-entered the library with the stamp in her

hand, Roddy was standing by the window.

He said, "So we leave here tomorrow. Good old Hunterbury. We've had some good times here."

Elinor said, "Do you mind its being sold?"

"Oh, no, no! I quite see it's the best thing to be done."

There was a silence. Elinor picked up her letter, glanced through it to see if it was all right. Then she sealed and stamped it.